We are Rhode Island’s only Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Clinical Care Center. If you or someone you know is living with muscular dystrophy, we are your connection to:
At the MDA Clinical Care Center, our healthcare professionals are dedicated to guiding adult patients and their families from diagnosis through treatment and daily management. Our comprehensive care provides patients with dignity and the greatest quality of life.
The Muscular Dystrophy Clinical Care Center welcomes new patients. A referral from a primary care physician or other doctor is required.
To make an appointment and for more information, call 401-444-6447.
Our Location
Rhode Island Hospital
Ambulatory Patient Center (APC) Building
110 Lockwood Street, Fifth Floor
Providence, RI 02903
Muscular dystrophy, a type of neuromuscular disease, refers to a group of genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles. In muscular dystrophy, abnormal genes (mutations) interfere with the production of proteins needed to form healthy muscle. Muscular dystrophy can:
Genetics has a significant role in the development of neuromuscular diseases, including muscular dystrophy. People with a family history of muscular dystrophy may be at higher risk of developing the disease or passing it on to their children.
Muscular dystrophy is a complex disease. There are many types with varying symptoms.
The main sign of muscular dystrophy is progressive muscle weakness. Specific signs and symptoms begin at different ages and in different muscle groups, depending on the type of muscular dystrophy. Patients may experience problems walking, falls, difficulty swallowing, trouble with fine motor tasks, muscle aches, or cramps, amongst other symptoms.
There are more than 40 types of muscular dystrophies. While cures have yet to be discovered, there are effective supportive treatments and management plans. We help adult patients with:
In addition to muscular dystrophies, our experts provide specialized neuromuscular care to patients with several other types of conditions. These include, but are not limited to:
We treat the whole patient – not just the disease. The same exceptional neurologists and specialists with the Brown University Health network are with our MDA Clinical Care Center.
Our Muscular Dystrophy Clinical Care Center provides patients with access to our broad network of specialists. Each patient’s individual plan of care provides the most comprehensive care available. You may be referred to a specialist in one of or more of these areas:
The center is sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which provides financial assistance, patient support services and research support to assist in the diagnosis, care and search for a cure for muscular dystrophy diseases.
